POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 3, 2014) – The Vassar College field hockey team will take its second trip to Saratoga Springs, NY for the Liberty League Tournament in as many years, battling No. 12 Skidmore College Wednesday for a chance to play in the finals Saturday afternoon. Wednesday's game with the Thoroughbreds will be the fourth time in the last two seasons these two teams have met.

Game Details
Opponent: at No. 12 Skidmore College (No. 2 seed)
Links: (Skidmore Women's Field Hockey Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Saratoga Springs, NY
Facility:  Wagner Park
Date: November 5, 2014
Time:  2 p.m.
Live Coverage: (Live Stats)
 
What To Look For
Wednesday afternoon's game with the Thoroughbreds will be the second time in the last 11 days these two teams have met, with Vassar falling to Skidmore 2-1 back on October 25. Last year in the semifinals, Skidmore knocked off VC 4-0 en route to a Liberty League Tournament championship. Despite dropped its last five games, Vassar College can still look to last year's 2-1 home victory over the Thoroughbreds as motivation for Wednesday. The defense for VC will be huge, as Skidmore boasts one of the best scoring offenses in the country, but the Brewers do come in having allowed just eight goals in Liberty League action this season.
 
A Look At The Thoroughbreds (15-3, 5-1 Liberty League)
Skidmore College comes into Wednesday's game winners in their eight contests, including a 6-3 season ending win over St. John Fisher College Sunday afternoon in Rochester. Skidmore has gone 10-1 in home contests this season, and is averaging 6.36 goals per game on its home turf this season. SC comes into the game tied for sixth-most goals per game in the nation, while posting the sixth-best scoring margin in the nation as well. Dani DeGregory comes into the game fifth in the nation in goals per game with 1.63, while also posting the fifth-highest point per game average at 3.94 a contest.
 
Skidmore leads the league right now in goals per game and scoring margin, and has fired 479 shots on goal, which are 90 more than the next closest team of Rochester. The Thoroughbreds have won the Liberty League during five of the last six seasons, but this will be only the second season in the last five that SC is not the No. 1 seed. DeGregory has led the team with a whopping 76 points, scoring 32 goals to go with 12 assists, both team highs. Sam Skott has scored 20 times for Skidmore, and Melanie Webb has notched 12 goals and dished out 11 more assists. Krista Lamoreaux has 11 assists as well for the season, while Amy Beck has made all 18 starts in cage, making 56 saves to go with a 1.28 goals against average. Skidmore hasn't lost to a Liberty League opponent at home since the 2009 season.
 
Against Skidmore All-Time
Vassar is 6-23 all-time against the Thoroughbreds, having knocked off Skidmore just once since 2000. VC hasn't defeated Skidmore at home since the 1991 season, earning a 1-0 victory that year.
 
At The Beach
Vassar sophomore Hayley Beach (Latham, NY/Shaker) scored her ninth goal on Saturday, and is now has scored the fourth-most goals in a season ever at Vassar.
 
Shot Callers
The Brewers have three of the top nine shot takers in the conference coming into Wednesday's game with Skidmore, as Lauren Wiebe (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker), Beach and Enya Cunningham (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) are all in the rankings.
 
D-Stops
The Brewers have six defensive saves this season, which is the most in a season for Vassar since posting eight in 2007.
 
Helping Out
This season, Vassar has assisted on 26 of its 33 goals, while four players have four or more assists, led by the six from freshman Storm Sideleau (Hopkinton, NH/Kimball Union Academy).
 
All Mine
This season, Amreen Bhasin (Cresskill, NJ/Riverdale) has played every second in cage for the Brewers, logging 1,209 minutes between the pipes. Bhasin is the first keeper to do that since Maggie Brelis accomplished the feat in 2011 for VC.
 
Looking For One
Vassar College is in search of its first-ever Liberty League playoff win in just its second appearance in the postseason tournament. VC lost to Skidmore last year 4-0 in its only other tournament contest.
 
On To The Next
If Vassar College knocks off Skidmore Wednesday, VC would play the winner of the other semifinal featuring No. 4 seed William Smith College and host and top seed University of Rochester. If WSC, then VC would host the Herons Saturday, but if Rochester knocks off WSC then VC would head to Rochester for the title game.